Strange how it rains now...

I work at an Islamic school. That means we have gender separation. Obviously I work on the girls side. Some days my job description resembles that of a slumber party chaperone more than that of a teacher. Girls are the same here as they are at home, especially when you gather them in large numbers. I regularly hear peals of glee or gratuitous screams filtering in to my classroom from the halls.

But yesterday, just after the last bell had rung and the screams had started, the cries took on another tone and weren't subsiding as quickly as they usually do.

The teachers from the English cluster came out into the hallway to figure out what all the fuss was about. One of my 10th grade students came running by NASCAR style and stopped right in front of me long enough to say, "IT'S RAINING!!"

Yes. All the screaming, yelling, and jumping up and down was all because it had started to "rain" outside. At home we would have used the term "sprinkle," but I didn't have the heart to burst my student's bubble.

The excitement was contagious. I ran and grabbed my camera and headed outside. Ironically, these girls were having the most Biblical reaction to anything I've ever seen in my life. They were singing, they were dancing, and there were even some of them praying! It was so interesting to watch!

I'm told that yesterday was the first time it had rained since last winter. That's at least 7 months since these girls had seen rain in their country. There are so many things we take for granted in the West, and precipitation is definitely one of them.

The rain had stopped after about 10 minutes, but of course I made sure to snap a few pictures before it all passed. It's hard to capture rain in motion, but you can see the proof on the sidewalk around my feet!

See?! See those dots on the sidewalk?

This is my Canadian colleague. She thought the whole situation was just as funny as I did.

Vicariously yours,